11/25/12

Best free channels for your new roku and live tv streaming

After getting my new roku I've started to dig into the best free channels and the best channels to add in general. What I really wanted to do was to stream live tv to my roku - and while I figured out how to do this - it might not be worth it. See more on this below.

1. Netflix. Roku may talk about free movies and channels but the truth is that without Netflix you might as well not buy a roku. Other sources are limited and commercial laden - Netflix should be your first stop.

2. Crackle. Ok - these are free movies - but seriously? "Zombie strippers"? There is a reason these movies are free. It is an ok addition to Netflix but only for spare entertainment.

3. Amazon stream. Even though you have to pay extra I've found that occasionally I can find a must watch movie on amazon even when it isn't on Netflix.

4. Ustream. This is interesting and has a lot of potential. In theory this service is intended for expats outside USA- but there is no verification so anyone can use it. I was indeed able to watch live tv for free - fox, NBC, Abc. The problem was resolution. Then true quality was terrible - I viewed it as radio with a side helping of grainy images. If you are looking for a hi quality live tv experience on the roku good luck - I wasn't able to find it.

Lastly - I didn't but one of the fancy hdmi cables - and have found that the basic rgb cables work just fine.